Home-grown acts hit right notes

Despite the rain, some of the biggest names from the local music scene were more than ready to pump up the heat in Orchard Road yesterday.

The full-day music festival saw more than 20 artists, with headliners like rock group Caracal and singer Charlie Lim, performing to an appreciative audience.

The inaugural *Scape The Invasion, held at *Scape, was a wrap of the year-long *Scape Invasion tour. The tour is an outreach programme showcasing made-in-Singapore bands and musicians.

The Caracal quintet roused the crowd at *Scape The Ground Theatre. The band livened the atmosphere with an electrifying performance of their hits, Given Breath and Naga.

Drummer Martin Kong later told The New Paper on Sunday that being part of the strong line-up of local acts was amazing.

He said: "It brings back some nostalgia. We grew up watching bands like A Vacant Affair on stage, so now it is a privilege to share it with them."

The band's guitarist, Field Teo, agreed: "It is great that we got to showcase our music at an event like this.

"When we saw how energetic the crowd was, it definitely gave us the motivation to work harder."

Another highlight was singer-songwriter Lim, who charmed the audience with his soulful vocals and catchy tunes.

He said: "Despite the rain, the crowd was just great. It felt like a huge house party."

Unfortunately, the bad weather later forced other performances - including Shigga Shay and Nathaniel Yap - to be cancelled.

Founder of Invasion Singapore, Mr Hyder Albar, 30, said the event was a great way to conclude the tour.

IMPRESSIVE LINE-UP

He added: "Our purpose is to introduce local talents and make the consumption of local music a norm among Singaporeans.

"I hope we have created a good platform for the exposure."

A fan of local music, designer Natasha Hassan, 20, was impressed with the line-up.

She said: "I think we often undermine our local talents because we don't listen to them.

"I wasn't a fan until three years ago, until I started to go to festivals like this. It has definitely changed the way I perceive local music."